On Sun, 20 May 2012 21:27:21 -0500
Stan Hoeppner <stan@hardwarefreak.com> wrote:
> On 5/20/2012 9:24 AM, Ramon Hofer wrote:
> > On Sat, 19 May 2012 11:31:51 -0500, Stan Hoeppner wrote:
> >
> >> On 5/19/2012 5:33 AM, Ramon Hofer wrote:
> >>
> >>> Yes, I'm really thankful for the recommendation. And somehow I
> >>> hoped you could jump in and help me :-)
> >>
> >> I'm actively working on it, have been for a couple of hours on and
> >> off. I'm reading your responses as I go before responding so I
> >> hopefully don't recommend something you've already tried. I'm
> >> still researching. In the mean time, if you can, go ahead and
> >> flash the 9240 with the latest firmware, precisely following the
> >> instructions.
> >
> > Should I first flash the new firmware and then test what you
> > describe below?
>
> Flash the firmware, then try too boot the system from the drives
> attached to the mobo SATA port, as you have been. If the system locks
> as it did before, this will tell us the firmware update didn't solve
> the problem. Given that the shipped FW was from 2010, I have high
> hopes the new FW will fix this problem. I'm surprised your card
> shipped with a FW that old. From what company did you purchase the
> 9240-4i? I'm wondering if it may have been sitting on a shelf for a
> while.
I purchased the card from http://www.techmania.ch/.
When I placed the order I asked them if I can come and pick it up
directly and they told me that they don't have an own warehouse but
they order the card directly from lsi.
> > I am not very sure if I do the flashing right. Here's what I do:
> >
> > 1. Read the firmware readme file [1]
> >
> >> Installation:
> >> =============
> >> Use MegaCLI to flash the SAS controllers. MegaCLI can be
> >> downloaded from the support and download section of www.lsi.com.
> >>
> >> Command syntax: MegaCli -adpfwflash -f imr_fw.rom -a0
> >
> > So I download the MegaCLI from [2] and read the MegaCLI readme [3]:
> >
> >> Installation Commands:
> >> ===================
> >> 1. Copy MegaCli.exe to a folder.
> >> 2. Run MegaCli from the Command Prompt. Use -h option to
> >> see help
> > menu.
> >
> > I create a FreeDOS USB stick with unetbooting. Copy MegaCli.exe and
> > the imr_fw.rom [4] into a folder on the USB stick, boot it and run
> > the above command to flash the card?
>
> Yep.
>
> >
> > [1] http://www.lsi.com/downloads/Public/MegaRAID%20Common%
> > 20Files/20.10.1-0077_SAS_2008_FW_Image_APP-2.120.244-1482.txt
> >
> > [2] http://www.lsi.com/downloads/Public/MegaRAID%20Common%
> > 20Files/8.00.40_Dos_Megacli.zip
> >
> > [3] http://www.lsi.com/downloads/Public/MegaRAID%20Common%20Files/
> > README_FOR_8.00.40_Dos_Megacli.zip.txt
> >
> > [4] http://www.lsi.com/downloads/Public/MegaRAID%20Common%
> > 20Files/20.10.1-0077_SAS_2008_FW_Image_APP-2.120.244-1482.zip
> >
> >
> > (...)
> >
> >>> But I didn't know if it's ok to ask you by name.
> >>
> >> I've been doing a "reply-to-all" with each reply, hoping you'd
> >> follow suit. This list is very busy thus a reply-all ensures I
> >> won't miss your posts.
> >
> > I'm using pan to read the newsgroup where's no reply to all button.
> > But there's a mail to field which I'm now testing :-)
>
> Ahh, ok. I didn't realize some people read mailing lists via news
> groups.
>
> When I reply-to-all, where does the copy end up that is sent to
> ramonhofer@bluewin.ch? Surely you read your email in an MUA such as
> ThunderBird or similar. You can reply-to-all from there.
This message was sent by claws. Hope it works now :-)
> >> Please feel free to address me by name and/or contact me directly
> >> off list. I recommended this storage controller/expander solution
> >> to you and it's not working yet. I'm not going to leave you
> >> twisting in the wind. That's not how I roll. ;) Besides, look at
> >> my RHS domain. I have a reputation to uphold. :)
> >
> > That's very kind!
> > I know that everyone here does for free what they do. So I don't
> > want to ask for someone to spend his/her time for me. But of course
> > I'm really thankful for every single minute you spend to help me :-)
>
> I'll be with you until it's fixed, working, or until we identify the
> root cause. It's always possible that the HBA is defective in some
> way. If neither the firmware update no other measures fix the
> problem, you may need to send the card back for replacement.
I really appreciate that. Thanks alot!
> BTW, after you flash the FW, power off the machine and remove the
> Intel Expander from its PCIe slot. Disconnect the 8087 cable from
> the 9240. Then power up and see if the system boots from the mobo
> connected drives. This will isolate the 9240 from the downstream SAS
> expander and drives.
This was my idea before so I did most of the tests without the expander
card...
Best regards
Ramon